Check out NASCAR’s newly released 2023 Cup Series schedule.
NASCAR released its 2023 Cup Series schedule Wednesday, and although there aren’t too many adjustments compared with this year’s lineup, the changes that are included are fairly big.
In recent years, NASCAR has beenrevamping it’s schedule so it now includes more road course races, a greater variety in track types and some novelty races, like the preseason Clash at the Coliseum and the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race. For 2023, many of the recent updates to the schedule remain the same, and there’s two new tracks added — though one is for an exhibition race.
So now that the 2023 NASCAR schedule is finally out, here are our key takeaways.
Could be awesome, but there’s clearly a lot of room for pitfalls and logistical nightmares.
As expected, NASCAR announced Tuesday that the sport is returning to Chicagoland — but this time, it’ll actually be in the Windy City and not about an hour outside of it in Joliet, Illinois.
Chicago will host NASCAR for street course races on a temporary circuit in 2023 (July 2). The Athletic first reported the news earlier this month, noting it’s expected to be a three-year deal through 2025.
When the news first broke that NASCAR was headed for a Chicago street course deal, it raised a lot of questions. Where exactly the course would be? Would the iconic Lake Shore Drive be part of it? Will people in the city be welcoming to it? From where will fans be able to watch? And what about Chicago’s infamous potholes?
Per NASCAR, here’s a look at the proposed street course layout. There are 12 turns, many of them right angles, it’s 2.2 miles long and, yes, South Lake Shore Drive is included.
(NASCAR)
Before the 2023 Chicago street course race, there will be an IMSA event on Saturday, July 1, 2023, NASCAR also announced.
As NASCAR noted, “The course will pass through the famed Grant Park, as well as approach the northern edge of Soldier Field, one of the most notable and recognizable sports venues in the country – and the site of the only other Cup Series race to take place in Downtown Chicago, in 1956.”
“I know there are some traditionalists that probably don’t like that,” Phelps said last month. “But with 36 points-paying races and two exhibitions, I think there’s room on the schedule for a street course.”
Agreed.
However, whether or not this street course will be a success remains to be seen, obviously. So we asked For The Win’s Chicago native and resident Blake Schuster to weigh in here.
“For starters, it seems like the only area you can put a ton of fans at once is the baseball fields,” he said of the five-sided loop between Turns 1 and 6, “and that’s not going to have a ton of visibility, since half of the track is out of sight. It’s also already such a bottlenecked area, I’m not certain how they expect people to get in and out.”
“It just seems like a logistical mess and the noise complaints are gonna be epic. Granted it’s only for a short term, but NASCAR is attempting to take over an area the Chicago Bears can’t get away from fast enough.”
Like NASCAR’s other recent experiments, if planned well and done right, the Chicago street course could be a tremendous success — or maybe only need a few tweaks going forward. However, there’s clearly a lot of room for pitfalls and logistical nightmares, along with the possibility that drivers hate it.
“Like the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum, we seized an incredible opportunity to add an unprecedented element to our schedule and take center stage in the heart of another major metropolitan market,” Ben Kennedy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing development and strategy, said in a statement. “This is the ideal setting for the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series street race. The NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars and the IMSA machines will race along the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago, marking a truly historic moment for our sport. We are very appreciative of Mayor Lori Lightfoot and her team, along with the entire City of Chicago for working with us to make this concept a reality.”
Either way, good on NASCAR for trying something new and bringing the sport back to the Chicago. We’ll just have to wait and see how this one turns out.
